With bright eyes and a youthful disposition, it was 2011 when same-sex marriage became legalized in the state of New York. This led to the most AMAZING Pride Parade, in my opinion, ever. Seeing the joy and happiness that was blooming throughout the city made me excited for the future because as an idealistic person, acceptance is one of the most important priorities on my moral list. At that point in time I did not recognize my queer identity, but I was always fond of all people, I could just never quite put my finger on it. Everyone was cute and everyone was deserving of love and care, no matter what gender they identified or did not identify as.

Fast forward six years later the LGBT+ community is thriving and prospering, but there are also many problems within the parameters of the community itself. There have been wins, like same-sex marriage being legalized all over the US, but there have been a lot of hate crimes as well. Some are based upon religious freedom, others are just based on hate. But some problems, such as exclusion of certain minority groups within the LGBT+ community, and that is something that needs to be discussed.

Often, race and sexuality and sexual identity play a role in how you are viewed in the queer community, with transgender folk, people of color, and minor sexualities taking a lot of heat for their identities. People that are transgender make up one of the largest parts of LGBT+ history, with such icons as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and more recently Laverne Cox. Some names still remain under the radar no matter how influential they are and how much support they bring towards the movement.

Personally, even though I don’t go around announcing it to every person I meet, I identify as pansexual, and it’s interesting to witness the reactions of other queer folk because I tend to get a lot of backlash for liking, simply putting it, everyone. Bisexuals and pansexuals are viewed as sexual deviants who will cheat on you with anything that moves, and I find it ironic, because the one place you don’t expect judgement on your sexuality is from a group that dedicates its time fighting for respect and rights.

Throughout the years of trying to figure out myself I have learned that the bigger of a minority you are, within whatever community you belong to, your voice will be belittled, no matter how much of an impact you create and I think that it is something that should be brought to light. Even though as a group we have accomplished a lot regarding expression and the right to be ourselves, there are many problematic issues within. I hope that with time, the newer generation of youths that are, honestly, a wholesome group of little warriors, will be able to fix and bond the community to make it even stronger and more tolerable.